Monsters
by dontknow2
Summary: "There is an old story passed by generation to generation about the monsters of the shadow forest". She never wanted to go near that forest yet she did, she never meant to learn about the monsters yet she did...and now nothing will ever be the same again.
1. Chapter 1

First of all, just to clear the air...I don't own 'Naruto' or any of the characters in it.  
>And now that the hard part is over...I hope you'll enjoy the fruits of my boredom =]<p>

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><p><strong>Monsters - part one<strong>

"Daddy why can't I go into the forest?" a blonde nine years old girl asks innocently.

"Because the forest is a scary place for little girls" the man says smiling at his little angel.

"But daddy, today one of the kids said that there are monsters in the forest but I didn't believe him cause there's no such thing as monsters, and when I wanted to go and see the teacher got angry…"

He looked at his cute innocent little girl with an mischievous smile on his face "do you want me to tell you the legend of that forest?"

"Yes, daddy tell me" she said happily sitting in front of him with a smile.

"There is an old story passed by generation to generation about the monsters of the shadow forest.  
>It was said that these so called monsters were once human and as any human being they lived, walked and loved as any other. But they have withhold a great misfortune, pain and great lost; and as a result they lost their mind and became isolated from the rest of the people, as time went by these man or woman slowly deteriorated to crime and revenge.<br>As the gods watched these humans they felt obligated to punish them for these wrongs but at the same time the gods could not overlook the circumstances that have brought them to this point, the gods could not help but take pity at the misfortune that they had suffered but could not let these deeds go unpunished.

And so the gods have made a decision that these humans would be granted a new start with their memories erased. But even if they suffered and reduced to these petty deeds a punishment was necessary, and as for the punishment the gods have taken their humanity away from them, taken their soul and the sun; leaving them as monsters fed from the blood of the humans they once belonged to, and when the night comes they will strike taking away only the blood of the humans that have done wrongs.

As its name implies 'the shadow forest' got his name from the fact that even in the brightest day no ray of light can be seen there and even to this day it is covered in heavy mist and shadows . As the legend goes those who dares walk into the shadow forest will never be seen again…" The man says quietly grinning evilly at his innocent little girl  
>"But what the monsters like to eat the most is bad kids…<strong>like you!<strong>"

"Nooooooooooooooo! The monsters are gonna' eat meee"

"hey!" the door to the room slams open and a blonde woman walks in to the sight of her blond husband with a guilty look and one frightened little blonde girl crying "stop scaring her! Sheesh…come on what kind of father are you? Come here Ino…its okay you're safe here it was just your silly parents and their immature jokes" the woman says taking the girl to her arms "there is no such thing as monsters…here you can sleep with me tonight and daddy can sleep on the sofa, so don't be scared"

That night was the first time of many to come that her father had told her that story.  
>And that was the night that she started to fear the darkness, needless to say she never came near the shadow forest again.<p>

She never stepped foot near the forest until that day that is…

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><p><em>Ten years later <em>

"Hey Jin, come back here you stupid dog!" she yelled running after the dog that somehow managed to escape from his leash "stop running already, damn it!"

"hey Ino what's up" she looks to see a pink haired woman waving her hand at her direction "sorry Sakura I can't talk right now, I'm chasing Kiba's stupid dog"

She passed by the old school when she noticed the direction Jin was going "No Jin! Bad dog! Stop! Don't go into the…" she halted as the dog passed the 'do not enter' sigh and ran into the shadow forest "shit…"

"Stupid dog!" she said to herself as she entered the forest after him "stupid Kiba letting me watch over his stupid dog!"

Ever since her father told her the legend about the forest she was scared to even go near it. And now not only did she come near it, she ran into it and all because she agreed to watch over Kiba's dog for the weekend. 'stupid me for agreeing to watch over that stupid dog…' she thought to herself as she found herself in the middle of the place she feared the most surrounded by darkness, fog and god knows what.

"There's no such thing as monsters… there's no such thing as monsters" she said to no one really but herself trying to calm herself down even a little with no success as she entered deeper into the forest.

"Hello there" a woman's voice said behind her, making her heart skip a beat. She turned around to face a tall red haired woman holding none other than Jin, the stupid dog that got her into this mess in the first place.

"Oh my god Jin, I'm so happy he's safe…thank you so much for finding him" she jumped up with tears of joy.

"You seem to be lost miss…?" the woman asked smiling. She was pretty, with the red hair, tall figure and a very pretty face.

"Oh right…I'm Ino, I'm from the town outside this forest…you see my dog ran away and I chased him out here and got myself completely lost…" she said awkwardly.

"Well Ino chan my name is Kyuu," she said smiling "it's a good thing I found you, didn't you hear…there are monsters roaming around in darkness of this forest? Aren't you afraid?"

"Well…I heard about the monsters, but I had to find Jin" Ino said smiling shyly.

"Well then Ino…that does not please me" Kyuu said taking hold of Ino's hands and pinning her against one of the trees "that does not please me at all" she said grabbing Ino's face with her other hand.

"Shall I teach you to be more fearful of the forest?" Kyuu said and kissed her, it was a deep, passionate kiss and for some reason Ino's knees failed her as she was slowly drown into it for reasons unknown to her.

"Hey Kyuu, leave her alone" a man said breaking their kiss shortly.

"But Sasu chan I was just having a little fun with my darling new prey Ino chan" Kyuu said pouting.

"I said stop it Kyuu, you don't want me to tell Naruto? Just go home and wait for me" the man called Sasu said.

"But Sasu can't I just…" Kyuu said pleading to the man.

"I said go home…NOW" he said starring at her with a look that would scare the dead back to life.

"Fineee…party popper…" she pouted "I do hope we meet again my lovely prey chan" she said giving a final lick to Ino's cheek and leaving with a playful wink.

"Please do excuse Kyuu's foolish behavior…can you stand up?" he said offering her a hand. "I'm Sasuke, I'll show you the way out of the forest" he was kind of mysterious with strait black hair, black looking eyes and built body and he was very handsome.

"Thanks…I'm Ino" she said reaching her hand to him, she was flushed from the kiss earlier and the awkwardness of the situation at hand.

"I don't really care…" he said coldly taking hold of her hand and helping her up "I'll show you the way out, and if I hear that this incident has in some odd way reached the ears of others I will come for you…and believe me when I say that that is not something you wish to happen" and with that said he had started walking with a very frightened Ino following his steps and an unusually quiet Jin in her hands.

They walked silently until they reached the outskirts of the forest "well Ino, remember our little promise" he said with his finger on his lips as to silence her up and disappeared back into the darkness of the forest.

The minuet he disappeared she fell to her knees in the darkness of the night that has already fell, with Jin still tucked in the comfort of her arms "Jin…" she said looking at the dog as he waged his tail "I hate you so much right now…"

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><p><em>3 hours later<em>

She set on her bed with Jin curled up beside her and her arm resting on his head.

"Jin, how can you look so cute sleeping after all that you've put me through today…sheesh I can't believe I followed you to that forest…" she said looking at him with a smile on her face "it's too bad we can't tell anyone about it since that man will probably kill me if I told anyone…" she said shivering at the memory of the said man "not to mention that…" she paused remembering the kiss 'it felt kind of good…' she thought blushing 'wait…' she paused again "shit…did I just think that kissing with her felt good? Oh my god…what's wrong with me?" she said to herself out loud.

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><p><em>The next day <em>

"God Ino chan thank you so much for looking after him, I hope he wasn't too much trouble" Kiba said smiling at her and petting his dog "you don't know how much I appreciate it"

"It's okay, it wasn't that big of a deal" she said smiling "he wasn't any trouble at all" she said shivering a bit from the memory of these said trouble.

"Tell me if there's anything I can do to return the favor" Kiba said happily "anything at all"

"Well…" she thought "do you possibly know about that stupid legend about the monsters in the forest?" she asked hesitantly.

"What? Why do you want to know?" he asked curiously

"It's just…mmm…some school project that I'm working on…" she said smiling and praying that he won't figure out that she's lying.

"Oh I'm sorry I don't really know that story but try the library I heard the woman who runs it is like a million years old, she probably knows about it…maybe…"

"Thanks Kiba I'll go ask her about it" she said happily waving her arm to him "bye thanks for the help"

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><p>The room was dark, with one small lamp that barely worked sitting idly on the main desk and the smell of mold was in the air, there were old looking books scattered all over the floor some were torn and some looked like if you dared to touch it the said item would simply rot and crumble in your hands.<p>

Now, you might ask yourself how she got herself into this god forsaken place…well this dark, rusty, old place was the city's library after all…

The city's library was never known for its great demand among the town's people, in a good day you could see one visitor going in through the main doors. The reason was mainly due to the fact that the need for books seemed nonexistent in a matter of speech, but also due to the building in which it was residing in. it was an old run down building covered with mold, weeds and a very frightening aura of darkness.

And as most of the people here, she too didn't feel the need to ever walk into that place nor did she ever really wanted to get near a place as dark as this, but she had to know the truth behind that legend.

Ever since she was young she was told to never go near the forest because of the legend, but how can she believe that the legend is real after what she had just seen? And if it is real then how come he helped her? Either way there was only one person who could help her and that person lived in that old, run down building; so she bottled up all of her courage, slid open the rusty doors and entered that dark room.

"Hello…" she said hesitantly looking around at the old bookshelves "is there anyone here?"

There is a faint sound of footsteps from the back of the room and a chill runs down her spine. The wind blows at her hair; wait…wind…in the middle of this closed room, in the middle of this shut down, isolated, sealed building the wind has blown her hair and just as she was about to ponder on that some more she sees her…

In the back of the room, just behind the last rusting bookshelf there she was; sitting on a wooden chair with her back turned towards Ino and a few white strays of hair resting on the back of the chair "hey…excuse me miss…are you the librarian?" Ino asks getting closer to the said woman.

There's no answer "excuse me?" she tries again, getting even closer to her. She reaches her hand to touch the woman's shoulder "miss are you oka…" right there sitting in that wooden chair an old woman, her arms as slim as they can be, her eyes were wide open, her head was tilt sideways with a few stray hairs on her head and a knife stuck in the place that used to be her heart.

"**HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**" she screams backing away from the decayed body in front of her "oh my god, oh my god, she's dead…what do I do? Oh my…"

"Ohhh shut up already I was trying to sleep here…"a voice says behind her. As she turns to see the source of the voice what she sees in front of her eyes is… "**HAAAAAAA GHOSTTTT**" she screams running away from the older woman that was supposed to be dead.

"**I SAID SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY**!" the woman\ghost screams back "sheesh so loud in the morning…stupid kids waking me up…chicken shit…" she looks back at Ino with an annoyed look on her face "what's wrong with you child it's just a dummy for Halloween…here get up now, I'm not a ghost so please don't scream again" the woman smiles and offered her hand to Ino.

_A few minutes later…_

"So you want to know about that silly legend that they tell the kids?" the woman asks looking at Ino patiently

"Is it true? Are there monsters in that forest? Do you know if maybe there's a man living there?"

The woman gets up and looks at Ino with a small trace of a smile on her face "it's true…and it's false" she pulls out a key and opens some kind of a vault, all while Ino just sits there confused.

"Why are you asking me about this old news now?" she says sitting back down with the book in her hands "did you enter the forest? You know it is forbidden, yet you did it…why?" she asks looking at Ino with curiosity.

"I…I don't know what you are taking about"

"**DON'T LIE TO ME CHILD**!" the woman stood up again, so suddenly that it almost made Ino fall backwards and quietly whispers "I hate liars…"

Ino was terrified, it was rather eerie seeing this elderly woman like that, it was tariffing really and finally Ino gave in "I'm so sorry…I won't lie to you ever again…I was in the forest but only for a couple of minutes, I was chasing Jin, and he ran into the forest, and I went to get him and it was sooo dark and…"

"Alright that's enough, I was only joking…sheesh child…but you really are a…how do kids call it now days? Sissy! yes that's it you're a sissy. How did you manage to enter that forest without fainting or something?" she says putting the book on the table.

"Well excuse me for being such a coward…I was only chasing the dog and…" she said pouting, felt a bit insulted at the remarks of that elderly woman.

"Well that's behind the point here…now tell me why?" the woman asked looking at Ino seriously.

"Why what?" Ino said confused.

"Well…why do you ask about that legend now?" the woman asked impatiently.

"Well…mmm…you see…mmm…i…"

"Just get on with it…god you're hard to deal with…" the woman said irritably.

"you see…when I was there…in the forest…there were some people and they kind of warned me from the monsters and I was wandering if maybe the legend that was told to me is not the real one, since…well since they didn't hurt me or drink my blood or anything…so…I was curious as to why they didn't?" she finished

"Well then…" the woman said smiling "the legend is partly true, but mostly it is false"

"What do you mean?" Ino asked curios.

"Well…" she said opening the book she had brought out before "the origin of this legend begins three hundred or so years ago. At that time it was said that demons and gods had been roaming through the earth, at the time two boys were born in the very opposite sides of the country. The first boy with black hair and black eyes was later called the 'Black devil', and the other with hair the color of the sun and eyes the color of the sky itself was later called 'Demon in disguise'. Both of the boys were born human, you've got to understand that none of their actions were meant to harm yet they did, and they were punished for these actions. The 'Black devil' as they called him was born to one of the most dignified families in the country. It was said that he was turned into a monster at twenty six years of age, it was said that the day it had happened he had come back from his work as the imperial guard of the high king. Which at the time was one of the most esteemed jobs there were, well as I was saying one day as he returned to his home he found his entire family killed; it seemed his brother had betrayed him and the country and joined the opposition, that day the brother has smuggled in people of the opposition and as they killed each and every one of his family they saved his wife and child for last.

When the 'Black devil' got to his home he was greeted by his brother covered in blood holding his child over a pool of blood and his wife being raped by the soldiers of the opposition. The brother held him down as he watched his son dying and his wife being raped over and over until she died as well and as the brother left him to dwell in the agony and the loss…that was when he truly became the 'Black devil' as they call him, at that moment as he held the dead bodies of his family he had made a pact with the devil himself. He had sold his soul for damnation, he was to live without his soul, wondering the earth between the humans but never belonging among them and the worst of all was that he indeed had to feed from the blood of the humans; and all of that for his wife and kid would be alive again. And the devil did keep his promise and they were alive again, only they were alive with the memory of him sealed away and when he reached out to touch his own family they screamed in fear and he cried in agony.

From that day he had been wondering the world hunting down every single man from the soldier unit that killed his family first and his soul second, as he killed them one by one the gods couldn't turn a blind eye anymore, yet they could not kill him and let him rot in hell, he has suffered enough after all. The only solution they could find, the only punishment fit for this broken shell of a man was that he would live through eternity and never see the light of day. And with that he actually became the first monster the humans call 'vampires'." She paused showing Ino the book that described him as 'The first vamp – Black devil' with a badly drawn picture of a man with sharp teeth and blood on his hands.

"Do you want me to continue? You seem a bit shaken…" the woman asked looking at Ino with concern in her eyes.

"Yes" Ino said with determination "please do continue"

"Alright then…the second man, the 'Demon in disguise' was born on the outskirts of the country to a poor but happy family, a family that he never got to meet. A few days after the boy was born a demon had entered the country, as no means known to man back then managed to stop the demon a brave man had volunteered to defeat the demon even if it might cost him his life…and it did, the details of the battle are unknown until this day; only one thing is certain, the demon was sealed inside the boy and from that day he is living with the demon that killed his entire family, the one that made him be all alone, left out from the rest of humanity, unwanted and feared of the creatures he loved the most. He roamed this world hundreds of years just trying to find a place he can call home.

And one day he did, he met the 'Black devil' right here in this city and after a fierce fight that ended up scaring both of them, they somehow became close…the suffering brought them together.

And since that day it was rumored that they live in that forest."

She felt as if the ground just opened beneath her and it was about to swallow her whole and spit out her bones. 'Black devil', 'Demon in disguise', vampires, demons, devil, gods…What? What? **WHAT**?

Ino sighted putting her hands on her head; it was all just…so much.

"Are you okay dear?" the woman asked looking at Ino with sympathy "do you want something to drink? Maybe coffee? Or tea? Or maybe some sake?"

"No…thanks…I'm…" she said interrupted by the old woman as she got up to bring a clear bottle of water and two classes.

"Here dear drink this you'll feel better" the woman said handing Ino a class of water.

"Thanks…" she said taking the class in her hands and drinking the whole content of it in one swift shot and almost chocking on the bitter taste of the unknown drink "what the hell…what Is that stuff?"

The woman laughed "relax dear it's only a bit of sake it'll do you good. Here drink another one" the woman said filling Ino with yet another glass of the bitter liquor.

After a few more glasses Ino was starting to feel the influence on her "well…hic…I should…hic…go home…maybe…wow this…this shit is strong…"

"Do you want me to arrange for someone to take you home dear?" the woman said amused.

"No...hic…I'm…I'm okay" she said as she dozed slowly into sleep, the last thing she heard and saw before the darkness took over her senses was a tall figure of a man with black hair and black eyes followed by a red haired woman.

"Take care of her Sasuke dear, Kyuu chan no funny business" the old woman said bending down to whisper to Ino "don't worry child everything is going to be fine…" and with that said darkness took over her and she fell asleep.

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><p>First chap's up hope you liked it =]<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Monsters - part two**

If anyone would have told her yesterday that she would be sitting and drinking tea with the 'Black devil' as they call him and the red haired gorgeous woman that has stoles a kiss from her, well she would have died laughing at that instant and yet…

She was sitting in front of an indifferent Sasuke and a way too cheerful Kyuu, and why you might ask yourself…well the reason lies in that mornings 'incident', or so to say.

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><p><em>That morning<em>

She had woken up with a horrible headache and no idea of where she is. She was lying down on a double sized bed with white fabric hanging from the frame of the golden bars of the bed; the room was big and unfamiliar and yet she couldn't help but feel comfortable with the soft bed. She cuddled up to the very warm pillow that supported her head as her pillow shifted her position a little and a voice said "good morning dear"

"Mm…morning pillow" she yawned into her talking pillow…wait…

She opened her eyes abruptly, realizing that her pillow is not supposed to talk and as soon as her eyes adjusted themselves to the sudden light she saw two red, cat like eyes staring back at her.

"**WHAA**…" she screamed jumping up from the comfort of the bed.

"Oh come on darling, come back to bed…" Kyuu said grinning at Ino.

"What…what are you doing in my bed?" Ino asked backing away as Kyuu stood up and approached her.

"Well darling…as you can see it is my bed that you came into" she reached her hand to lightly caress Ino's cheek "I believe I deserve a reward for this act of kindness" she said bending down slightly bringing her lips so close to Ino's that she could feel Kyuu's breath tickling her lips "and to think you were so adorable yesterday…coming here and asking me 'please sleep with me Kyuu', how could I refuse my darling?" she said grinning and closing the gap between them to steal yet another kiss from the shocked Ino.

"Kyuu leave her alone" a cold voice said from the doorway breaking the two apart before the gap between them closed all the way "you promised him you'll stop doing that"

"Damn…the party pooper has arrived…" Kyuu said stepping away from the terrified girl  
>"Fineee…I'll wait for you in the garden, my darling prey" she said winking at Ino and leaving the room.<p>

"Thanks again" Ino said looking at Sasuke grateful to him for saving her again.  
>"By the way where am I?" she asked looking around.<p>

He looked at her for a few seconds silently and finally said coldly "there are clothes in the closet for you to change into, we'll meet you outside when you're ready" and with that he left as well, leaving to meet with Kyuu in the garden outside.

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><p>She got dressed quickly and joined the two for tea in the garden; this really was an unusual scenario. In her wildest dreams she never would have imagined she would meet these two again, not to mention this.<p>

They set across her as Kyuu happily chatted and Sasuke answered her with a usual cold reply.

"You're not going to tell the kit right?" Kyuu asked with a hint of anxiety in her voice.

"No, I won't tell Naruto for now but please refrain from doing those things any more. You know how much he hates it…" he said harshly looking at the red haired woman.

"Are you angry?" she asked blushing slightly.

"There is no reason for me to be angry at you…" he said coldly.

"I'm sorry Sasu chan…you know you're the only one for me right?" she said temptingly getting closer to him.

"Wait just a second there!" Ino yelled causing both of them to shift their gazes to her "first of all what the hell are you people? And second who is that Naruto you keep talking about and what the fuck is going on here?"

"We got ourselves a spicy little thing now didn't we Sasu chan?" Kyuu said grinning evilly her way.

"girl, maybe I was unclear before when I told you not to talk about us since merely a day have passed and I find you sniffing around asking people about it…so let me refresh your memory" he said flashing her his sharp canine teeth as a silent warning that sent shivers down her spine "I told you to leave it be and yet you insisted on sniffing around our past and now as a result you will never leave this place alive…"

"What do you mean I can't leave this place alive?" Ino said frightened to the bones.

"The kit will be so happy to see he got a new toy to play with…" Kyuu said licking her lips "speaking of which…he's waking up, I better go"

"Kyuu let her see" Sasuke said coldly "let her see the monsters she was so desperately seeking…"

"Your wish is my commend" she said smiling "I'll see you later love…prey chan"

What happened next was unlike anything she had ever seen or imagined in her life, right there in front of her very own eyes that beautiful devilish red haired woman simply closed her eyes and in a split second in her place stood a handsome young man with blond hair that reminded her of the sun.

"Morning Sasu chan…I feel like I slept for ages" he said opening his eyes to reveal two bright blue eyes and a childish smile "did you miss me?"

"No…" was the cold replay he got from the cold black haired man.

"Oh come on just admit that you missed me…I know you did" he said grinning and pocking Sasuke's cheek bone "come on just say 'I really missed you Naruto sama'"

"Naruto do that one more time and I will kill you…" Sasuke said coldly.

"As always you are no fun at all…" he said pouting.

"Mm…excuse me…just what the hell is going on here? She…he…it!" she said pointing her finger at Naruto's face "was a girl and now there's a boy and that one" she says pointing at Sasuke "is some kind of crazy, twisted vampire or something and you're saying I can't go home anymore and I…" she says crying softly "I don't know what's going on anymore"

"Hey, hey it's okay. Don't cry…everything's going to be okay…" Naruto said getting near her and petting her head softly.

"But I was like…and then they were like…and then he was like…" she said crying into his shoulder.

"There, there I'm right here. Don't worry…mm…who is she by the way?" a slightly confused Naruto asked looking at his so called 'best friend'.

* * *

><p><em>Two hours later<em>

"Okay…so let me get it straight" Naruto said sitting in front of his black haired friend "you're saying granny told her about us after you clearly told her not to talk about it with anyone?"

"Yes" Sasuke replayed coldly.

"And basically you saw fit to threaten her that you'll kill her, right?" he asked crossing his arms.

"Yes" another cold replay.

"And that doesn't seem…well a bit too much?"

"No" yet another cold replay.

"And that doesn't seem…well a bit too much?"

"No" yet another cold replay.

"Okay then…anything else happened that I need to know about?" Naruto said looking at Sasuke seriously.

"Whatever, I'm bored…I'm going to the city" Sasuke said getting up to leave.

"Damn how can someone so smart act so stupid in times like that…sheesh" Naruto sighed to himself.

"Is he gone yet?" a voice said from the doorway making Naruto jump a little.

"Yes he went to town probably to visit granny…" he said after calming himself down "sorry for asking but what exactly happened?" he asked turning to look at her. She stood at the doorway dressed in one of Kyuu's sundresses and she looked stunning even with her eyes swollen from the crying and her hair messed up he couldn't help but think as he watched her walking timidly towards him…she was like some scared little cat and he couldn't help but think that she really did look beautiful.

"Well…I was chasing my dog into the forest and then…"

She told him everything that had happened and by the time she had finished it had already gotten dark outside.

"I'm back…" Sasuke said coldly as he entered the house.

"You! You son of a…" Naruto yelled jumping up from his seat, running towards Sasuke and pinning him against the wall.

"What the fuck man?" Sasuke asked angrily.

"Just tell me one thing Sasu chan…" Naruto said sneering at him "in what way is Kyuu kissing Ino twice doesn't count as 'anything else I need to know'? How could you let her do that?" he said releasing Sasuke from his hold.

"Well the girl didn't seem to mind so I didn't think much of it…" he said coldly making Naruto blush a little for some reason.

"By the way granny says the girl's cool" he said fixing his attire and walking towards a frightened Ino "sorry for earlier…I just can't be too cautious about these things"

"It's…okay?" she said unsure how to respond to his way of apologizing.

"Then shall I walk you back home?" he asked coldly as ever.

"Oh no…I wouldn't want to impose" she said politely.

"I'll take her Sasu chan I wanted to visit granny anyway" Naruto said smiling.

"Whatever…" Sasuke said and turned to walk away.

* * *

><p>"Hm Naruto san…you really don't need to take me all the way home you know" she said blushing.<p>

"It's late and I can't let a girl walk alone in the middle of the night…besides its been a while since the last time I was able to walk out like that it feels nice" he said with a sad smile looking at the horizon as the wind softly blew at his hair. He stood there for a couple of seconds just looking at nowhere as if stuck in some kind of trance and she couldn't help but stare at him and think 'how can he be called a monster?"

"By the way Ino chan" he suddenly said breaking the spell that she was in "about Sasu chan…do you dislike him?"

"Well…yes, how can I not hate him? He is scary, cold and mean…and he said he'll kill me like a dozen times" she said looking at Naruto "how can you get along with someone like him?"

He looked at her and sighted "you shouldn't judge him he's been through a lot and he really doesn't intend to be mean he's just worried about me and Kyuu"

He stopped and looked around them and then turned to Ino again "can we sit here for a while?" he asked pointing at a bench near them.

"how much did granny tell you about him?" he asked walking towards the bench as she followed him "she told you about what happened to his family right?"

"ya…she told me his brother killed them in front of his eyes. I understand it must have been painful to him and all but still he doesn't have to be so…" she said starring into space.

"ino…" he said seriously looking at her "what I am about to tell you I must ask that you keep a secret from those two"

"…okay"

"The first time I saw Sasuke it was raining and he was staring at some woman, the look on his face almost made me want to cry…at the time I didn't understand why and since that day for some reason unknown to me I stopped by to look at him, to see that hurt expression, that painful smile that graced his face as he sat there watching her with her family" he said smiling sadly "every day, every night he just sat there and stared until one day I finally had the courage to talk to him…"

He smiles and looks at her "it took me some time to get him to talk to me, he was even closer than he is now and yet for some reason it made me feel stronger. When I felt like I couldn't stand another day he was always there at the same place, he never judged me or cursed me he just sat there staring at the woman and her kid with those sad eyes. Simply sitting near him made me feel at peace and then one day I came as usual and what I saw…I'll never forget it.

He was sitting there at the same spot as usual, only…he seemed lifeless, like someone just came and shook the ground beneath his feet. By then I had already known all the rumors about him, about the trade he made with the devil. That was probably one of the things that made me interested in him in the first place and yet as he sat there that day and the tears started to form in his eyes I couldn't help but ask him all about it…and he told me; he told me everything about him, about her, their son and all that have happened.  
>You see I never really had a family to call my own except for Kyuu and hearing that…hearing how all of his beloved family was taken from him, murdered in front of his eyes by the brother that he had always looked after; well it broke my heart.<p>

As he told me that the tears never stopped falling from his eyes and I didn't leave his side until the next morning"

"What happened that night? Why did he cry?" she asks curious.

"The woman he stared at…his wife; she got married to another man. I asked him to come with me that night, to move to another place where no one knows about us. I never imagined that he would say 'yes' but he did…

_Three hundred years before_

_He looks at her from afar as he always does. She looks happy without him and he hates to admit it but it pains him to watch this, to watch her and his son happy with some man that is not him. But they do look happy…it's a limited consolation for him._

_"Sasu chan…we have to leave this place, it's not safe here anymore" a blonde man says looking at him with concern._

_"I know…" he says quietly._

_"How was she?" he asks looking at the brunette woman._

_"She is…she was everything for me. Kind, beautiful, funny, smart and she was mine alone…I couldn't let her die, I just couldn't, not her…" he says with tears at the tips of his eyes "I still love her now, but she's better off with that man. I am a monster…she would never love me like this"_

_"Go…say goodbye"_

_"She doesn't even know I exist…" Sasuke says looking at the ground._

_"Then it can't hurt anyone right?" the man says smiling and giving him a push "we're leaving tomorrow, this is the last time you see her…just go and tell her how you feel"_

_"What if I scare her? I won't be able to live with myself knowing that…you know, when I close my eyes I can still see her smiling face and feel her touch…I can't let that memory disappear" _

_"It won't disappear, just go and talk to her" the blonde says smiling at him._

_"Here's your chance" he says pointing at the woman straggling with two large bags in her hands "go…"_

_"Excuse me miss." He says from behind her trying to prevent his voice from cracking as she turns around to face him "can I help you with those" he says gesturing over to the bags she's been carrying._

_"Oh no, I wouldn't want to impose" she says politely._

_"It is not a problem at all, I am truly happy to help" he says smiling and she stars, with tears forming at the tips of her eyes._

_"Is everything okay?" he asks concerned "are you feeling ill?"_

_"I'm…I'm fine, it's just that for a second there I…" she pause looking at him with a wary smile "never mind…it's nothing, thank you for the help" she says handing him the heavy looking bags she was carrying. _

_They walk silently until they reach their…her home and he can't help but feel a bit nostalgic and sad._

_"Would you like to come in for tea?" she asks innocently._

_"You must know it is not safe to invite strangers into your home, my lady" he says smiling sadly at her._

_"I know…it is silly yet I feel as if I've seen you before" she says looking at the ground._

_"Are you happy my lady?" he asks softly. _

_"What?"_

_"You have a strong healthy son and a loving man, I've seen them before. Do they make you happy?" he asks looking as her face changes from surprise to affection "yes they do, very much" she says smiling. _

_"Please give this to your son" he holds out a golden bracelet with the symbol of the Uchiha carved on the front. It was something he had always wanted to give him since the day he was born and like this he accomplished one of the many things he had wanted to do yet couldn't anymore._

_"Oh no, I couldn't possibly take that" she says looking at him seriously "isn't it important to you?"_

_He looks at her with a sad smile "it was always meant for that boy…it must sound ridiculous and maybe even scary but I feel like I've known you for years…please accept this as a charm for happiness, since that is all I wish for you two"_

_His eyes look so sad and hurt that it breaks her heart; she can't help but feel that in some way they have already met before. She looks at him with a hint of sadness and says "are you sure you can't come in? My husband and son will be back soon and you could meet with them" _

_"I am truly sorry but I must go now"_

_'It hurts too much when I see you smiling by his side' he wants to say but he won't, he'll never say something that might hurt her…not her. _

_"Can't you stay longer?" she says not understanding the need to see him for even a little longer._

_"Right now a part of me wishes that your love will be fulfilled with that man…but another part of me wish that that love would have been with me. And that is why I must go, it may seem selfish of me and you are probably confused since this is the first time we've met, but I cannot bring myself to see you with another…I cannot stay here with you any longer my love." The wind blows her hair softly and she can feel the tears forming in the tips of her eyes as he looks at her smiling "your heart was won over by another, but if a time comes when you feel your heart shift from his side…all I wish for is that…if that time comes, you will seek me out"_

_His arm starches out to softly caress her face and he leans down to whisper in her ear "goodbye"._

_"I promise…" she says with a soft smile as tears fall down her face, the face that hunted his dreams for years, the face that will probably keep hunting him for many more years to come and the face that right now he would see for the last time._

_And even as he turn and walks away her face still hunt him to the point of breaking but he knows the truth behind the old saying that if you truly love someone you have to let them go, so he will let her go even if it kills him inside. And as he walks away she whispers to the wind a quiet 'goodbye'._

_'Who are you?' she whispers to herself as he disappears in the horizon and she feels as if a part of her disappears with him and it hurt, it hurts her so much that the tears don't seem to stop and she doesn't know why…she had only just met him and yet…_

_'I shouldn't have done that' he thinks to himself as he silently watches her cry in the arms of another. "is it that bad of me to hope that somewhere in the depth of her heart, hidden in the darkness of this curse she still remembers me…is it that wrong of me to think like that Naruto?"_

_"Of course it's not wrong…" the blonde man says from behind him "in your heart she'll always be your wife and you will always be her beloved husband even if she can't remember it she can feel it in her heart, but it is better like that…for both of you" he continues looking at the broken man in front of him with sadness "I know it must hurt like hell right now but you have to be strong…and if you ever feel the need to lean on someone I will always be right here by your side, if you say a word I shall act as your rock since for so long you have been mine; even if you weren't aware of that…" he smiles and somehow that makes Sasuke smile too. Maybe it's right to say that even in darkest place you can still find a ray of light._

"after that we just kept moving from place to place until we found this forest, by the time we got here the rumors of this forest already existed so we figured it would be fine to love here since no one will come to bother us because of the so called 'shadow forest'.

We've been living here for the last one hundred years…you are actually the second person that knows about it in the whole world" he says smiling.

"The first is that old lady right?" she asked smiling.

"Yap…just you and granny" he said standing up and giving her his hand to help her up "shall we go on princess?" he said winking.

"Why did you tell me that?" she asked flushed.

"I don't know, maybe I just wanted to clear the air or maybe I just wanted to spend more time with you before you get home" he said grinning at her as they approached her house and he turned to leave "who knows…"

"And Ino dear, don't forget to keep our little chat a secret" he said winking at her and making her blush for what seemed to be the hundred time that night.

"Keep what a secret?" the heard from behind them as Sasuke walked their way.

"The fact that back at the time you had that huge crush on granny" Naruto said laughing and running away from the angry looking 'black devil' as they call him.

As soon as Naruto left with a nasty looking bruise on top of his head Sasuke sat next to her with a serious expression on his graceful face "idiot…"

"Well then…he told you about me right?" he said smiling "the dumbass just can't keep his mouth shut"

"It's not like that Sasuke san" she said panicked "it's just that…well I said something mean about you and he just…sorry"

"I know…he is just kind that way, always interfering with people's business without asking, that is one of the things I like about him…but if I ever tell him that I'll never hear the end of it" he said smiling "you like him don't you? I can tell…"

"I…" she said blushing and looking at the ground.

"You know…I never told anyone this but I saw them again" she looks at him a bit confused "my family…I saw them again after that"

"For so many years I've been living with this curse, for so many years I hated myself…I was dead yet I was still alive, I lost everything yet I couldn't lose myself no matter how hard I tried; for all those years I couldn't accept myself for what I have become until the day I saw her again…she gave me back my freedom without even saying a thing" he looked at her as she sat there in front of him with those curious eyes.

"when I came to see her she was already old…she was dying and she remembered me" he smiles "she lied in the hospitals bed, she looked at me and cried and I knew she remembered" he said looking at Ino's face "it might sound stupid…and probably weird since we never really talked before but I always wished that I would be able to grow old with her, to have kids with her, to start a family with her and to always be by her side; so when that accident happened I felt like my brother took my whole world with them…if I didn't have them what was left right?" he said smiling sadly.

"When I sat there at her hospital bed and watched her I could see she was happy with him and somehow it made me realize that even if it wasn't me with her, by her side all that ever mattered was her happiness and she got to have that. I felt like a dark hole in my heart has healed, I guess it was partly thanks to that idiot too" he said smiling

"What I'm trying to say here…" he says looking at her with a soft graceful smile "not everything about this is bad. In the end I saw her happy that is all I ever wanted, I will never regret the time I had with her and you too shouldn't be afraid to tell him how you feel…it is better to have a love lost then to never experience love at all"

He got up to leave room "he will never understand if you don't tell him…after all he is an idiot" he looked at her one last time before leaving "by the way if you ever tell anyone about this.."

"I know…I know… you'll kill me right?" she says smiling.

"Yes that's about right…" he says with a lazy wave of his hand "goodnight Ino san"


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, as you asked I tried to keep this chap shorter then the others (did i do good? XP)

As always thanks for reading so far, I hope you'll like this as well =]

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 3<span>**

"…chan" she heard Naruto's voice bringing her back to focus "Ino chan…come on listen to me" he begged shaking her gently.

"What?" she asked still in a daze.

"Listen! Sasu chan that jerk…he threw me out, he said I was annoying" he said pouting.

"Wow…how could he…" she said sarcastically rolling her eyes at him.

It has already been a few months since she first met them and slowly she began to get used to being around all of them, she wasn't afraid of that forest any more since she's gone over to their place often and they also came to visit her at times…although most of the times Naruto came after he was thrown out like today.

"Right? How could he say that? Me…annoying?" he said walking to sit next to her "I'm not annoying, I'm charming and cute and he should be honored to have me right?"

"Ya, ya whatever…" she said coldly trying to focus on her book again.

"You sound just like him…" Naruto said pouting at her.

"What? It's finally my day off and" she said looking at him from where she set, she would never admit it to him but actually she was a little nervous when he was around. Sasuke's words seemed to linger in her mind since that day _' __he will never understand if you don't tell him__'_

"…how can I love him?" she said not realizing it until the words already left her mouth 'damn…' she thought blushing and praying he didn't hear it.

"Who?" Naruto asked leaning closer to her.

"Shut up…no one" she said looking away from him to calm herself "why are you here anyway?" she said hoping he will leave it be.

"Cause I'm bored, I told you now play with me!" he said juming up and down in his seat.

"No…" she said coldly looking at her book again.

"Ino…please. Pretty please with sugar on top, just for a little while…play with me" he pleaded looking at her with the cutest pout she has ever seen.

She looked at him with a blush unseen to him amazed at the way this man can make himself look so cute and innocent like this.

"I'll play with you later…I'm reading" she said coldly. She couldn't help but want to tease him back when he looked so desperate and innocent like that, after all she needed to pay him back for all the times he did it to her.

"But Ino…I'm dying" he said seriously looking at her.

"What?" she asked frightened from the words he just said.

"I'm dying of boredom!" he said putting his hands on his head in frustration.

"God! You scared me you idiot!" she yelled hitting his head as hard as she could and knocking him to the floor.

"I scared you? Why?" he asked sitting on the floor and rubbing his sore head "don't tell me you were worried that your beloved Naruto sama will die? Don't worry Ino chan I will never leave you" he said smirking and winking at her making her blush.

"Well then 'my beloved Naruto sama'…"she said staring angrily at him smiling evilly with her fists raised up "shall I redeem you from your suffering and kill you right here and now?"

That day as Naruto's screams echoed through the city he learned a valuable lesson the hard way to never get on Ino's bad side again.

* * *

><p>It was just another boring, usual day working at her parents flower shop, after she finished high school it seemed to be all she ever did work and hang out with Sakura…boring especially after she met those three, it's wasn't like being with Sakura bore her it was just that they were unique, fun and she never met anyone like them. Sakura was her best friend but they were her secret and it made her happy to know it but she still wished she could tell her about them.<p>

It was the middle of the winter, due to the rain the shop had minimal to no costumers at all and as she set at the cashier she couldn't help but think about them, a week as already passed since she last met Naruto and the others and yet she can't seem to think of anything else.

"God why can't I forget that idiot?" she said to herself putting her head gently at the table.

"And who might that idiot be?" a voice said making her jump.

"Shit…forehead sneaky much?" she asked looking at the pink haired girl with mock anger on her face.

"Well Ino pig, for your information I was standing here for the last fifteen minutes" Sakura said crossing her arms and looking at Ino.

"…sorry" Ino said with an apologizing smile.

"It's okay. It was funny to look at your expressions change" she said smiling teasingly "so who's that idiot that's on your mind?" she asked taking a seat next to her blond best friend.

"It's nothing…he's no one" Ino said blushing.

"Ino…" Sakura said looking at her and waiting for her to spill the beans.

"it's just…" she started looking at Sakura trying to find the right words to say "well, there is this guy…and he's an idiot, he always make these stupid jokes, tease me and he only come to see me when his roommate kicks him out…at the beginning it always used to annoy me when he did that" she said pausing.

"Sound bad…so we hate him?" Sakura asked.

"No…he's not all bad. He's nice and considerate, sincere, gentle and he cares so much for his friends and…for some reason it feels like when he smiles it lights up the room and he's funny, he makes me laugh…" she said blushing slightly and smiling at Sakura brightly.

"You really like him ha?" Sakura said with a knowing smile.

"What? No!" Ino said blushing "yes…I don't know…"

"It's just that…" Ino said playing absentmindedly with some paper she found on the table.

"What?" Sakura asked seriously "come on Ino spill the beans already"

"It's just that sometimes he says something that makes me think that maybe he likes me…but I don't know what if he's just joking around like always?" she said looking at the paper in her hands "what if I get my hopes up and it all ends up to be one sided, what if I was right and they have to move again, what if I won't be able to see him again…I'm scared"

"There, there Ino it's okay…" Sakura said petting her back gently "everything will be fi…"

"Hey Ino chan I came to hang out!" a crash was heard as Naruto slammed himself into the shop interrupting the comforting words.

"Did I come at a bad time?" he asked looking at the two girls.

"Not at all" Ino said putting on a smile and looking at Sakura as if to let her know to keep their talk a secret "right?"

"So this must be the stud muffin?" Sakura said grinning at Naruto and looking at him head to toe.

"Stud muffin?" Naruto asked with a deep blush.

"Sakura!" Ino yelled at the laughing girl and looked at the confused Naruto "it's nothing don't mind her…"

"Ya, ya take a breather Ino pig" Sakura said waving her hand at the annoyed Ino "so…" she said taking another look at Naruto head to toe.

"…So" Naruto said a little scared for some reason.

"So…" she said again getting closer to him "what's your name stud muffin?"

"Naruto…you must be Sakura" Naruto grinned at her.

**'pffff stud muffin? I like that one' **Kyuu said laughing inside his head.

'Shut it Kyuu!'

**'Oh come on kit I was just messing with you'**

'Kyuu if you don't go away I'll tell Sasuke about what happened to his 'lost' shirt and how I happened to wake up to see a certain someone sniffing it out' he said grinning.

**'You wouldn't!'**

'Oh but I would…' he said calmly 'now go back to sleep Kyuu'

**'Fine!' **she said stubbornly.

"Well Naruto…" Sakura said grinning back at him and gesturing for him to bend down "what are your intentions with my Ino pig?" Sakura said, making Ino's eye twitch a little.

"What?"

"Sakura!" Ino half screamed at the pink haired girl.

"Okay okay I get it I'm going" Sakura said grinning "now you two kids enjoy yourselves" she said waving her hand lazily as she left the shop.

"Damn she's stating to behave more and more like that lazy ass she's dating…sheesh" Ino said looking at the door with a smile.

"So…" Naruto said scratching the back of his neck trying to break the awkward silent.

"Oh you're still here?" Ino said with a teasing smile.

"Why yes" he said grinning back to her "I'm still here Ino pig"

"I know you did not just call me that" she turned to look at him as if daring him to say it again.

"Didn't call you what?" he said innocently looking at her "Ino pig"

"Alright Naru chan…" she said walking over to him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and bringing him down to her eye level "it's on"

* * *

><p>"How long does he have?" the old lady asked looking at the handsome man in front of her.<p>

"I don't believe he'll make it passed a month if he'll go through with this" he said quietly playing absent mindedly with his cup of tea.

"What did Kyuu say about it?" she asked

"She's refusing to talk about it with me" he said with hurt in his eyes "I can see how torn she is because of it and I tried to convince Naruto to leave it but he wouldn't listen to me"

He looked away to some unknown place in the room "he said that he want us to live happily together…even if he isn't with us"

"Dear" she said putting her arm on his gently "this is hard on all of you. He made a choice to give you two a future where you can be together, get married and one day start a family. This was his choice; everyone can see that there's something going on between you two. He is giving you his dream, it's his choice and you'll have to respect his wishes one way or another"

"I can't stand to even think about her dying, I love her but he's my best friend…how can I chose? How can I stand still as one of them die?" he said his voice cracking.

"I know it hurts but it was his choice" she said gently looking at him "by the way the girl…is she still with you?"

"Yes, Naruto is over at her place now"

"Does she know yet?"

"No…" he said looking at the table "I fear the day she finds out"

"Why?" she asked looking at him

"If she remembers and…something happens to her it will divested him. She's all he's got left and she doesn't even know it" he said sadly.

"He also has me and you two. We're right here beside him, beside both of them and we won't let that happen. We'll find a way to save them…all of them" she said

"Thank you Tsunade" he said getting up from his seat "we'll find a way to save them like you said…one way or another"

* * *

><p>"<strong>Naruto!<strong>" she screamed as he fell to the floor coughing and chocking on his own blood

"I'm…cough…I'm fine…" he said sitting himself up.

"**You're not fine, look at you!**" she said panicky reaching for her phone to call for help.

"Wait Ino…cough…" he said chocking again.

"Naruto…hang in there I'll call Sasuke…he'll know what to do…so please don't die on me now" she said sitting next to him with tears in her eyes and pressing the numbers down on her phone.

"Ino don't…" he said snatching the phone from her and throwing it away "he can't know about it"

"**What the hell do you think you're doing?**" she yelled angrily.

"you know…" he said almost too softly for her to hear as he sat there covered in his own blood "when I was a kid I never understood why everyone was so scared of me" he looked at her with a sad smile that seemed to tear her heart open "I never understood until I woke up in a dark room covered in blood…I could smell it on me, I could taste it in my mouth and feel it on my skin; all around me there were corpses, dead people with their throats cut open, their bodies reaped from inside out and their faces…so scared, every single one of them looked terrified and for some reason I knew it was me, I did that to them and it didn't stop I thought it would never stop and I wanted to end it…" he said looking at her "that was the first time I have seen Kyuu. Back then all I could see in her was anger, blood thirst and hatred for the world" he said with a small smile "but there are just some things that cannot be seen by the naked eye, things that are hidden beneath the surface and as we grew closer and closer I could see…I could see everything, all the pain, all the tears and the suffering, all the memories. We were one and the same, we were connected by more than just our bodies or souls; pain has brought us together and we became each other's only comfort and then we met Sasuke, he was as pained as us and I could see how as time went by they got closer…I have to protect them they are my only family even if it costs me my own life" he said determinedly putting his hand gently on her face to cover up her eyes.

"Then why didn't you let me call Sasuke?" she asked falling to her knees.

"If you call Sasuke he'll come here and try to help and I can't let that happen"

"Why? If he can help you then why not call for h…" she said her voice cracking.

"If I live…Kyuu will die" he said looking at Ino with hurt in his eyes "she is dying and this is the only way to save her. I can't let him chose between us so I made this choice for him…for both of them"

"Why didn't you tell me?" she said crying softly.

"I'm sorry Ino but this is something no one can know…not even you"

He looked at her as the tears fell down on her face and it broke his heart.

"I love you…but I have to let you go" he said smiling sadly as she sobbed quietly into his hand.

"I…" she began to say as her vision began to blur and she fell unconscious.

"I'm sorry…" he said smiling as he disappeared to be replaced by a very confused Kyuu.

"What the hell…" she said looking at the unconscious girl next to her.

* * *

><p>To be continued... =]<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N**

**Okay, so I just wanted to start off this chapter with a little explanation about the characters...**  
><strong>There is a reason why the characters act so OOC and it will all be reviled in time, so please for the time being bear with it.<strong>

**Aside from that tnx for reading and I hope you'll enjoy this episode as well =]**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 4<span>**

It was freezing cold.

That was the first thought that came to her head as she stood out in the street she knew so well, yet didn't really know at all.

As the cold wind blew and the sky darkened around her she couldn't help but feel like there was something forgotten. Something that was supposed to be important, something that was supposed to never be forgotten…and yet it was and for the life of her she couldn't figure out what it was.

She looked around her, taking in her surroundings, only to see that she was indeed in Konoha. The same place she knew and loved…only it wasn't.

The streets looked the same, the buildings looked the same but the people…this was defiantly not the Konoha she knew.

"Ino" the familiar voice of none other than Sakura called from behind her.

She turned around and there it was again. Right there in front of her stood Sakura, the same Sakura she knew and yet different in a way, she was sure it was her after all they knew each other since childhood.

'And besides who else can walk around with that stupid pink hair?' she thought to herself as Sakura's figure came closer.

"What's up Ino pig?" she asked in her usual cheerful voice.

"Oh nothing much …" she found herself answering against her will "we just returned from a mission in mist…unlike you, some of us still need to do missions forehead"

'Mission?' she thought to herself 'what am I talking about?'

"Well I have some news" Sakura said ignoring the remark "you remember Naruto?"

"Sure why?" Ino asked coldly.

"Well" she said smiling happily "he's coming back from that mission today"

'Coming back from where?' Ino thought 'what's going on here?'

"Well I just wanted to let you know that we're throwing him a 'welcome home' party at Hinata's tonight so be there" she said still smiling "not that anyone would miss you if you won't come…" she added grinning.

"Oh…don't worry I'll be there. I wouldn't miss it for the world…" Ino said grinning evilly as she said "after all it's not every day that one gets to see a forehead wearing a dress"

'Boom! Nailed that!' Ino thought to herself with satisfaction.

"What did you say?" Sakura said drawing some sort of weird looking knife.

"Didn't you hear me forehead?" she said drawing one of those knifes out herself "you want me to say it again?"

"Just try and I'll kick your ass Ino pig!" she said angrily lunching towards her.

"I'd like to see you try!" Ino said doing the same.

Just as they were about to collide a tall figure came between them.

"Now, now girls" the man said grinning from ear to ear "as much as I'd love to see a cat fight right now…"

"Jiraya sama?" both girls said angrily.

"As I was saying…Tsunade sent me to call for you" he said looking at Sakura "so put your kunai away for now"

'kunai…' she thought 'so that's what that weird knife is called'

"Well see you at the party Ino pig" Sakura said following the man as he mumbled to himself something about material for his next book.

'It must be a dream…' she thought as her vision began to blur and the next thing she knew, she was standing in the middle of what looked to be a very fancy balcony looking at the scenery of the town when she spotted a blond haired boy sitting outside.

"So what…after so long the almighty Naruto-sama can't even enjoy his own welcoming party?" she said jokingly walking from behind him.

"What?" the boy said surprised "oh…Ino it's just you" he said looking away from her again.

"Well excuse me for not being someone else" she said crossing her arms.

"Sorry Ino" he said smiling "I didn't mean it that way…"

"Don't sweat it" she said smiling "so what got you so down?"

"Nothing really …" he said softly.

"It's about forehead again?" she asked concerned.

"Who's forehead?" he asked looking at her confused.

"Sakura" she said smiling.

"Hah forehead?" he said laughing out loud "she'd kill you if she hears that"

"No, I gave up on her long ago" he said smiling at her "besides she's like my sister…it's gross"

"Well ya, if you put it that way" she said smiling back at him "so what's on your mind?"

"I just wanted a breather I guess"

"Mind if I join you?"

"Sure I'd love the company" he said with his trademark grin "and besides what kind of man would I be if I refuse an offer like that from a pretty lady" he said winking.

"I see Jiriya-sama is starting to rub off on you…" Ino said taking a seat next to him with a smile and a slight blush "how did the mission go?"

She only asked that to change the subject and yet the look on his face made her regret ever asking. It may have been just her imagination but at that moment his usual happy-go-lucky mask fell and she saw all the sadness and hurt in his eyes.

"I'm sorry…if you don't want to talk about it then it's fine" she said putting a hand on his shoulder.

"You'll find out sooner or later anyway…" he said looking at the ground.

"I was sent on a B-class mission to patrol some criminal hideout near the border of Wind.

Nothing big happened during the mission, but when the mission was done and we were just about to return home…" he stopped and looked at the sky as if searching for the right words.

She didn't know why but seeing him look so depressed worried her to the bones, it was the first time she saw him act this way "Naruto…" she started to say.

"At the end of the mission we obtained information about him…" he said still looking away from her "he's dead" he said with his hands in fists.

It took her a second to register what he just said and when she finally did she took hold of his hand squeezing it gently "you shouldn't blame yourself"

"I couldn't save him…" he said with his voice shacking, he turned to look at her as a single tear escaped his eye.

"You can't save everyone" she said looking him in the eyes "you did everything you could…this was the path he chose to take"

"You don't blame me?" he asked softly.

"No one will blame you for this" she said smiling "and if someone will we'll just have to kick some sense into them"

They set quietly for another hour, Ino holding on to his hand as he slowly calmed down.

"You're feeling batter?" she asked as his hand stopped shacking.

"Ya…" he said looking at her with a smile that she had never seen before; not one of those fake smiles or grins he usually wears but a sincere smile "thanks"

"No problem" she said smiling back with a faint blush "besides, Sakura would've killed me if she knew I let the guest of honor sit here all by himself"

She got up from her seat and grinned at him "you were very lucky to have Ino-sama's company"

"Why, thank you oh so very much" he said as he got up after her "almighty Ino sama"

"that's more like it…" she said smiling and walking away.

* * *

><p>She woke up covered in sweat as the memory of the dream lingered in her mind.<p>

'Who died?' she wondered to herself.

"Mmm…stop moving already!" Kyuu said from beside her making her jump a little in surprise.

"Kyuu!" she said angrily "why are you in my bed again?"

"Cause'…" she said sleepy.

"Sheesh…you're so childish" Ino said half seriously nudging her to wake up.

"Says the girl that kept saying 'Naruto' in her sleep…" Kyuu said back grinning with her eye still closed.

"Kyuu, you won't believe what a crazy dream I just had…" she said changing the subject with a blush, it was a good thing Kyuu had her eyes closed.

"Was it about me?" she asked with one eye open and a mischievous grin on her face.

"Actually…it was about Naruto"

"Kinky" Kyuu said with a wink.

"Oh shut up…"

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that's it for this chap...i'll update shortly this time I promise.<strong>


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